Ask Kevin: Straw bales in Alaska
27 Feb '07 from Kevin Contreras
Hello Kevin,
I am planning on builiding a house in a remote area of Alaska. I’ve done some research I’ve looked at ceramic and geodesic dome homes and building green looks very exciting and inexpensive! Would you recommend a rice straw house in an area that reaches minus 40 degrees in the winter?
Also what was the total cost of the your house in Santa Barbara?
Thank you for your time and response.
Dena
Dena,
Our house cost approximately $250 per square foot to build here in California. Your costs may be lower or higher, depending on your local building codes, the price of local labor, and the cost of transporting materials to your site. As for cold weather construction materials, rice straw is highly insulating, and should be wonderful for your climate. If I was designing a house for 40 below I might even think of doubling the bale walls, if space is not an issue. An R100 would sure be nice. For local know-how, visit the Alaska Craftsman Home Project, which has lots of resources for energy-conscious builders in that state. thelaststraw.org has links to help you locate bales locally. Last but not least, check out this article from the Yukon News about a straw bale home in your state.
Kevin
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Alaska
Kevin, I too live in the interior of Alaska. Unfortunately most folks consider log cabins as the “green alternative” Straw bale construction by local “green” builders are not an option. So my project is gonna be a do it yourselfer. Curious if there was anyway to connect people in this region who would be interested in shipping up straw bales (more economical) as a group? thanks geo
Canadian straw
George,
I think you have to start talking to grain growers in Canada about the types of straw they have. Surely there are farmers that can provide you with good bales, though I don’t know how far they’ll have to travel. Start reading http://www.thelaststraw.org/history/eisenberg.html to learn about what is going on in the world on bale building and I’m sure you’ll find some contacts.
Let me know what you come up with, and Happy Building,
Kevin
I'd like to thank you for
I'd like to thank you for the useful links (and thanks to Dana for asking the question.)
That being said... Alaska is not part of Canada. And while climatically there are some similarities Alaska is also not the Yukon.
Point Alaskans to Canadian farmers and Canadian builders is not that helpful.
Straw in Alaska (Not Canada)
I live in North Pole, Alaska, and am in the process of convincing my husband that building our next home from bales of straw is a good thing. It seems I've got a way to go..
Anyway, for those living in or near the Fairbanks area, there are a good number of farmers Moose Creek & Salcha (Eielson Farm Road area; about 30 miles from Fairbanks), as well as Delta Junction (about 100 or so miles away) where it may be possible to get some straw bales that would be suitable.
For those in the Anchorage area, the Palmer community has many farmers growing hay.
Since I'm totally new to the whole concept of building with straw bales, I'm not sure if what these farmers grow would be suitable for making straw bales for building or not, but at least they're closer to us than Canada is, and it might just be a viable option.
I think my first straw-bale project will be a 12x16 (or thereabouts) studio on my current property. If there is anyone in my general vicinity who has built with straw bales and is willing to let me tour what they've created, please contact me.
Thank you,
Monica
To: Monica, and anyone interested in Alaska green building
There are fewer options in Alaska than in most places when it comes to eco building. I am in the midst of a project with a development team in Anchorage. We are working to create economical, arctic efficient, green homes and building techniques. I would be happy to offer you any assistance and information you may need. And I would love to hear how your project is going.
To my knowledge, there have been several homes build by individuals all over Alaska. Difficulty being that most are off the grid, and total do it your-selfers. My best recommendation for exploring an existing structure is: look to the eco lodges in Alaska. There are a few (all of whom have worked with outside (California and the like) developers for their planning and construction): AlaskaEcoLodge.com - this is a McCarthy wilderness lodge that employs straw bale construction.
Straw is great for Alaska as the insulation value is remarkable...so efficient. I would suggest that you look into timber frame as well, as you can acquire reclaimed wood, or beetle kill trees (likely for your own processing) at a great value. Additionally, the demo teams in Anchorage that I am aware of do not do reclaimation prior to their demolition. So contacting them to see if you can "sneak" into a project before they do, and salvaging some of the building material for your space would be a great way to cut costs. Alaska Demolition or Northwest Demolition and Dismantling.
I am looking to create a forum in Alaska for conversations and networking regarding the above discussed and the like. So feel free to get in touch if you are interested.
All the Best!
Blair
brownbl@gmail.com
Alaska network
I just discovered and joined this forum trying to find people to interact with in Alaska. I am from Northern Minnesota but am moving to the Kenai Penninsula in the spring. Strawbale/Cordwood and other alternative construction methods are a life time interest of mine. Currently I am finishing up a traditional stick built home that my husband and I designed and built by working hard and thinking out of the box and a laughable budget.
Please feel free to email me or point me in the direction of other sources specific to Alaska.
straw bale homes in Alaska
We have family friends who built a straw bale home in Palmer, Alaska. Located in the Matanuska valley, the heart of Alaska's agriculture, straw is available. The home is over ten years old and works great. They had some issues to overcome in building, but they built when there wasn't the vast amount of information out there on materials and techniques available now. If you spend the time to plan and get your test samples ahead of time, a straw bale home is an excellent alternative. Go for it!!
ty
reddingtonsrun@hotmail.com
Thanks for all the comments
Thanks for all the comments everyone. I too am thinking of building a straw bale in interior alaska, but I have one big concern that I am having trouble getting good long term results type info on. This is moisture. With the air temp well below zero outside and toasty warm inside, condensation in the walls is a huge worry- and with straw that equals rot. I've heard that people have had black oozing out of their walls. Thus, I know of one house in Fairbanks that built with OSB, visqueen, black death.... all the stuff they really didn't want to use.... with the straw in between it all because their research made them feel like it was a necessary concession to the cold environment. These are smart folks who did a lot of research, so I do not take their decision lightly. But what I wonder is if anyone has gone the standard way of straw building with plaster and no vapor barrier and lived YEAR ROUND in it for many years and knows the condition of their straw?? Here in McCarthy there are now 2 straw bale places, but neither of them have had long term winter inhabitation to really test this. I hear maybe someone has had a straw bale place in Eagle River for many years? I like the idea of starting more of a network for this info. I'd love to hear any information or even just leads on information that anyone has. Thanks so much!
Hi. I have almost the exact
Hi. I have almost the exact same idea and concern. I would love to build a straw bale home in Bristol Bay but am worried about moisture. I was wondering if you had found anymore info. I had pretty much given up but saw this site. Let me know of your progress. Thanks